Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
What the intellectual craves above all else is to be taken seriously, to be treated as a decisive force in read more
What the intellectual craves above all else is to be taken seriously, to be treated as a decisive force in shaping history. He is far more at home in a society that weighs his every word and keeps close watch on his attitudes then in a society that cares not what he says or does. He would rather be persecuted than ignored.
Every extreme attitude is a flight from the self.
Every extreme attitude is a flight from the self.
Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness read more
Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions.
A man's soul is pierced as it were with holes, and as his longings flow through each they are transmuted read more
A man's soul is pierced as it were with holes, and as his longings flow through each they are transmuted into something specific.
The ruthlessness born of self-seeking is ineffectual compared with the ruthlessness sustained by dedication to a holy cause. "God wishes," read more
The ruthlessness born of self-seeking is ineffectual compared with the ruthlessness sustained by dedication to a holy cause. "God wishes," said Calvin, "that one should put aside all humanity when it is a question of striving for His glory.".
In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped read more
In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.
There are no chaste minds. Minds copulate wherever they meet.
There are no chaste minds. Minds copulate wherever they meet.
A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.
A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.
Every device employed to bolster individual freedom must have as its chief purpose the impairment of the absoluteness of power. read more
Every device employed to bolster individual freedom must have as its chief purpose the impairment of the absoluteness of power. The indications are that such an impairment is brought about not by strengthening the individual and pitting him against the possessors of power, but by distributing and diversifying power and pitting one category or unit of power against the other. Where power is one, the defeated individual, however strong and resourceful, can have no refuge and no recourse.
It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one's neighbor.
It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one's neighbor.
